Prof. Wendong LI, Associate Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Date: 14 April 2023 (Friday)
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Venue: E22-G015
Host: Prof. Lucy LIN, Associate Professor in Management
Online registration: https://umac.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dm9bSJYoQGFyyPA

Abstract

The great man theory of leadership highlights the significance of individual differences (e.g., personality and genetics) in shaping leadership emergence and effectiveness. In this talk, I will briefly introduce our two recent research that challenges and complements this perspective. In the first study, we examined whether becoming a leader will alter one’s personality traits, probing the possibility of reverse causality in the personality—leadership relationship. We found in two national longitudinal studies that becoming a leader from an employee enhanced one’s conscientiousness—an important form of leader development, and the influence was channeled through change of job demands. In the second study, we examined the possibility of so-called “leadership genes” based on a large UK dataset (N = 248,640). We found that the so-called “leadership genes” were also positively related to bipolar disorder and alcohol consumption, and other positive well-being indicators. I will also discuss implications of our findings to future leadership research.

Speaker

Prof. Wen-Dong Li is an associate professor at the Department of Management, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining CUHK, he worked as an assistant professor at Kansas State University. His research and teaching interests focus on leadership, proactivity, work design, individual differences, and recently change-related issues in organizational research.

All are welcome!